1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an apparatus for reproducing information from a recording medium. This invention specifically relates to an information reproducing apparatus including a waveform equalization circuit for processing a signal reproduced from a recording medium such as an optical disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese patent application publication number 10-106161/1998 discloses an optical information reproducing apparatus based on a PRML (partial response maximum likelihood) system. In the apparatus of Japanese patent application 10-106161, information of a run-length-limited code is reproduced from an optical disc through a reproducing section, and a transversal filter subjects the reproduced waveform to partial-response equalization. The output signal of the transversal filter is decoded into binary data by a maximum-likelihood decoder. The apparatus of Japanese patent application 10-106161 includes a parameter setting device which selects intersymbol-interference imparting values in the partial-response equalization in accordance with the characteristics of the reproduced waveform. Also, the parameter setting device sets tap coefficients of the transversal filter and a decision point signal level for the maximum-likelihood decoder as parameters in response to the selected intersymbol-interference imparting values.
The apparatus of Japanese patent application 10-106161 premises that the optical disc has predetermined pits (reference pits) representative of parameter-setting reference data.
Accordingly, the apparatus of Japanese patent application 10-106161 fails to implement suitable waveform equalization for an optical disc which lacks such predetermined pits.
Japanese patent application publication number 7-192270/1995 discloses an apparatus for reproducing a digital signal of a run-length-limited code from an optical disc. The apparatus of Japanese patent application 7-192270 uses a method suited for a high information recording density. The method in Japanese patent application 7-192270 performs ternary equalization whose objects are only an amplitude except for points corresponding to a data train provided with a minimum code inverting gap among points just before or just after the inverting position of a code and an amplitude at the inverting position of the code.
In the apparatus of Japanese patent application 7-192270, a signal is read from an optical disc by an optical head, and the read signal is applied through an amplifier to an equalizer. A decider following the equalizer discriminates the level of the output signal of the equalizer. The decider includes two comparators. The output signals of the comparators are fed to an error calculation circuit as level discrimination results. Since the decider includes the two comparators, the signal processing by the decider and also an error calculation process are relatively complicated.